Viral superconductor claim shot down by academics [REWIND 2023]

A team of Korean researchers claimed to have discovered a world-changing superconductor, but their paper turned out to be false.

An image of LK-99, a compound that a group of Korean researchers claimed had superconductivity, provided by Kim Hyun-tak, one of the co-authors of the study [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Manuscripts in which a group of Korean researchers claimed to have created the world's first room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor were made public in July but later verified to be false.

Author Lee Suk-bae and team of five other contributors claimed that a compound of lead, copper, phosphorous and oxygen, dubbed LK-99, had exhibited superconductivity at room temperature and under ambient atmospheric pressure in the self-archived papers.

Such a material has long been a holy grail in science and technology circles, as an electric current could theoretically pass through it without losing energy. If created, it could bring fundamental changes to every aspect of electricity, from transportation to power generation, and significantly boost its efficiency.

The release of the papers caused quite a buzz in the academic community. Social media erupted, and the stock market went on a roller-coaster ride.

But both research institutes and individual scientists around the world attempted to verify the Korean team's manuscripts and soon came forward to debunk the claim, stating that LK-99 had not exhibited superconductivity, even at very low temperatures.

The Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics also launched a research team to verify the superconductivity claims in August, and announced on Dec. 13 that “there is no evidence at all proving that [LK-99] is a room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor.”

The fleeting frenzy around the potential superconductor generated quite a bit of drama, including feuds among members of the research team over their respective contributions to the project.

Quantum Energy Research Centre, a Seoul-based, privately-held corporation behind the LK-99 claim, also had to shut down its website for falsely naming local companies and research institutes such as Samsung SDI, LG Innotek and Posco as partners.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]